North Port commission to weigh more development for Warm Mineral Springs

NORTH PORT – After sitting through hours of public comment – which poured in via email, voicemail and from an overflow crowd at a Monday workshop – North Port city commissioners signaled they're forging ahead to maximize commercial development at Warm Mineral Springs Park.

Most speakers, including a member of the Seminole Tribe who traveled from Ochopee to attend, were against any development on the 83-acre site, with some considering it sacred.

Vincent Jimmie, a member of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal People, told the commission he opposed “whatever you want to develop and rezone, and let the land heal.”

North Port Mayor Barbara Langdon stressed that there wouldn't be a formal vote or active discussion of a proposed business partnership that would allow for the development of a hotel and residences on 61.4-acres of park land around the springs as part of a deal for a private firm to rehabilitate three historic buildings on the 21.6-acre historic springs site and operate the springs.

“We may call for a consensus – that is not a binding vote on any of this,” Langdon said. “It’s simply to give staff some direction on what the commission is considering at this point in time.

“We’ll be discussing the specific proposal at a later date.”

Rekated: No responsive second bidder emerges for Warm Mineral Springs public-private partnership

Earlier: Five things to know about Warm Mineral Springs in North Port, Florida

The springs and three buildings built for the Florida Quadricentennial are all on the National Register of Historic Places.

Access to the springs, closed since the day before Hurricane Ian made landfall, reopened to the public on April 7 and is now operated by city park staff.

That may change, should the city follow through on a proposed public-private partnership with WMS Development Group LLC, which would operate the attraction and a portion of the overall 83-acre site.

What the North Port commission did

Four of five commissioners – with Debbie McDowell dissenting – favored city staff developing a growth plan amendment that would maximize the development opportunity for the business partnership on the lands surrounding the springs. That would allow for development of six dwelling units per acre – or 359 homes – and 782,773 square feet of commercial space.

Commissioners figured it would be easier to pare back the amount of development subsequent public hearings.

Commissioner Phil Stokes suggested that the 21.6-ace park site could easily be increased by another 10 acres or so, to 30 acres, with the subsequent reduction of developable land on remaining acreage.

Commissioner Pete Emrich noted that the strategy wouldn’t handcuff the board, or block it from pursuing business deal.

Vice Mayor Alice White agreed, saying, “We can chip away at it for what we don’t want to see.”

All development options would include a height cap of 40-feet, or three stories, on any potential hotel.

McDowell and most residents who spoke favored preserving the springs and surrounding land and at most follow the park plan developed by consultant Kimley-Horn and Associates and approved by the city in 2019.

Stokes also wanted to know what it would cost to restore the buildings and maintain the entire 80-plus acres of park land.

While in recent years Warm Mineral Spring generated an average of $1 million a year in profit, maintenance was only done in the 21.6-acres.

The city had earmarked about $9 million to restore the three historic buildings, but after bids to perform the work came in at roughly $18 million, the commission opted to consider a private partner to complete the restoration.

The City Commission agreed to have the parks advisory board weigh in on the plan and consult with the descendants of the indigenous people who used Warm Mineral Springs for a variety of things, including a burial ground.

What the public said

While city staff has not formally reached out to indigenous people, Vincent Jimmie was one of several people – along with Shannon Larsen, co-founder of Ancient Trees and Leroy Osceola of the Otter Clan – who toured Warm Mineral Springs earlier this year, along with representatives of WMS Development Group LLC.

“I took a walk over there one day a few months ago and the spring is not doing well,” Jimmie said. “My family, some of them are buried in that spring so I'm opposed to this development.

“Like somebody said earlier, there’s another alternative you can make this land heal and bring it back so people around here can get healthier.

“Find a way to preserve that, to protect that land and help that spring come back to life,” he added. “I came here to ask you all for that.”

Larsen said the development proposal “goes way beyond common sense,” for an otherwise sacred place.

“A lot of you here don’t understand ‘sacred,’" she said. "Would the word ‘holy’ help?,” she continued and called the springs “holy waters.”

The residents who addressed the board echoed those sentiments. Many combined their statement with blanket opposition to a separate topic covered later in the workshop – a proposed rezoning of the city that would create mixed-use zoning for single-family lots and possible changes in allowed uses in North Port Estates.

Some, like David Phillips, mentioned the need for geotechnical surveys and hydrographic studies to determine whether the 61.4 acres could support hotels or condominiums.

"We do need studies but you don’t need a PhD to know that type of massive disturbance has a high probability of damaging the springs,” Phillips said, then asked rhetorically if the city had a “Plan B” if the springs dried up.

Jono MIller, chairman of the Myakka River Management Coordinating Council and former co-director of the Environmental Studies Program at New College of Florida, noted that the flow rate in the springs is now 5.09 cubic feet of water per second, which was down considerably from 1942, when it was more than 13 cubic feet per second.

He suggested a moratorium on any plan until independent studies can occur.

“No one,” Miller said, “is going to want to come to the Warm Mineral stagnant pool.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port seeks plan change for more Warm Mineral Springs development